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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. race — the arms race
  3. kid — child
  4. root — of a word
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. degree — from a university
  7. land — a country
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. race — a contest
  12. land — to come down
  13. track — a path
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. track — to keep track
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. degree — temperature
  19. track — a song
  20. race — humankind
  21. land — ground
  22. bat — the animal
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com